DOJ Seeks Forfeiture of Tanker Skipper Over IRGC-Terrorism Links, 1.8 Million Barrels at Stake

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Caption: Motor tanker Skipper. Photo: CMC

Summary

The DOJ has filed a forfeiture complaint in DC federal court seeking to seize the tanker Skipper and its 1.8 million-barrel cargo, alleging ties to IRGC/funding for terrorism.
The ship was seized by the United States on the high seas in December 2025 under a false Guyanese flag.
The complaint portrays a scheme from 2021 to present involving shipments from Iran and Venezuela to support IRGC/IRGC-QF, with some cargo reportedly destined for Cubametales.
US officials, including Attorney General Bondi and FBI Director Patel, emphasize the action as part of a broader effort to clamp down on terrorist financing and to enforce sanctions.
The case underscores ongoing tensions over sanction enforcement and enforcement tools in international maritime commerce.

WASHINTON DC – A complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia seeks the forfeiture of the crude oil tanker Skipper, the Motor Tanker seized by the United States on the high seas in December 2025 under a false Guyanese flag. The United States Department of Justice says the ship carried about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil supplied by PdVSA, the state-owned oil company of Venezuela.

According to the DOJ, the Skipper and its cargo are forfeitable because they allegedly provided a source of influence over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), which is designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). US Attorney General Pamela Bondi asserted that under President Trump’s leadership, the era of secret support for regimes that threaten the United States is over, adding that the DOJ will use every legal authority to dismantle operations that defy US law and destabilize global order.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the forfeiture filing demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to enforcing sanctions and disrupting financial networks used by foreign adversaries to fund terrorism and destabilize international security. He noted interagency cooperation in identifying and dismantling these networks to safeguard the integrity of the international financial system and American security.

Assistant Attorney General A Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division called the action a crucial step toward making the United States and the world safer by interrupting the flow of money to terrorist organizations, adding that the Criminal Division will continue to use all tools to end terrorist financing.

The DOJ alleges a scheme from at least 2021 to the present to facilitate the shipment and sale of petroleum products for the benefit of the IRGC, including the IRGC-QF. The Skipper allegedly moved crude oil from Iran and Venezuela, using ship-to-ship transfers to deliver to destinations around the world, including to “rogue regimes.” The most recent activity cited by the DOJ was the vessel loading about 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan-origin crude at the José Terminal in Venezuela in November 2025.

Bills of lading indicated that about 1.1 million barrels were destined for Cubametales, the Cuban state-run oil company designated by OFAC in July 2019. On December 10, 2025, US law enforcement seized the Skipper on the high seas pursuant to a judicially authorized seizure warrant. The DOJ noted that at the time, the Skipper was flying a false flag, rendering it stateless.